“Do you think faggots can have children?” asked Ahmadinejad, who previously claimed that homosexuality does not exist in Iran and whose government punishes homosexuality with death.

He suggested corrective action for anyone who believes they are gay or lesbian.

When asked how he would react if his own children were gay, the president said, “Proper education must be provided.”

He went on to describe homosexuality as “an ugly behavior or ugly deed” that should not be legitimized.

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission monitors Iran for human rights concerns and says LGBT Iranians are subject to violence and discrimination by both the state and society.

The UN Human Rights Committee in 2011 said, “As a state that prides itself in tradition and morality, Iran must now take immediate action to ensure its definitions of tradition and morality are in accordance with the fundamental principles of international human rights law.”

“Despite last night’s glib interview, the fact is that President Ahmadinejad uses LGBT Iranians as scapegoats for his government’s poor human rights record and as a distraction from critical human rights concerns,” said Jessica Stern, newly appointed executive director of IGLHRC. “He should ask LGBT Iranians themselves whether they were born that way or love their children, and he just might get some much-needed re-education himself.”